JULY 2018 R: 18-06-A REPORT CUTTING IT CLOSE: HOW UNSUSTAINABLE LOGGING IN CANADA’S BOREAL FOREST THREATENS INDIGENOUS RIGHTS, WILDLIFE, AND THE GLOBAL CLIMATE Acknowledgments A heartfelt thanks to the numerous individuals who helped in the research, drafting, and review of this report. Any mistakes are wholly the responsibility of the author, and review does not necessarily mean endorsement of the report. NRDC maps were provided by Lance Larson. Special thanks to Liz Barratt-Brown, Shelley Vinyard, Mitchell Beer, Charlotte Adams, and Jay Blair for research, analysis, and technical support, and to Mary Annaïse Heglar for her patient and detailed editing. This report has benefitted immensely from the careful review and input of Valérie Courtois, Emily Cousins, Philippa Duchastel de Montrouge, Brendan Guy, Margie Kelly, Olivier Kolmel, Niel Lawrence, Franz Matzner, Amy Moas, and Sasha Stashwick. We are incredibly grateful to the Atikamekw of Opitciwan and the Waswanipi Cree for welcoming us into their communities and sharing with us their stories, efforts, and knowledge. This report is dedicated to the Indigenous Peoples who fight every day to protect their lands and ways of life. We would also like to thank the numerous organizations, communities, and individuals across Canada who work tirelessly to safeguard the boreal forest for future generations. Author Jennifer Skene, with significant contributions from Joshua Axelrod, Anthony Swift, Courtenay Lewis and Danielle Droitsch. About NRDC The Natural Resources Defense Council is an international nonprofit environmental organization with more than 3 million members and online activists. Since 1970, our lawyers, scientists, and other environmental specialists have worked to protect the world’s natural resources, public health, and the environment. NRDC has offices in New York City, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Montana, and Beijing. Visit us at nrdc.org. NRDC Chief Communications Officer:Michelle Egan NRDC Managing Directors of Communications: Lisa Goffredi and Jenny Powers NRDC Senior Editor, Policy Publications: Mary Annaïse Heglar NRDC Policy Publications Editor: Tim Lau Design and Production: www.suerossi.com Cover image: © Garth Lenz © Natural Resources Defense Council 2018 Table of Contents Executive Summary ............................................................................................................................................... 4 I. Introduction ..................................................................................................................................................... 8 II. The Value of the Boreal Forest ......................................................................................................................... 8 The Importance of Intact Forests .........................................................................................................................................9 The Territories of Indigenous Peoples .................................................................................................................................9 Canada’s 2020 Biodiversity Goals and Targets ...................................................................................................................11 The Wildlife of the Boreal ................................................................................................................................................... 12 Frequent Flyer: The Arctic Tern ......................................................................................................................................... 13 Boreal Bellwether: The Boreal Caribou .............................................................................................................................. 13 Ghost of the North: The Canada Lynx ................................................................................................................................. 13 A Vital Resource for Climate Change Mitigation ............................................................................................................... 14 Freshwater Resources: The Lifeblood of the Boreal .......................................................................................................... 15 The Economic Value of the Boreal ...................................................................................................................................... 15 III. Logging’s Impacts on the Boreal Forest ......................................................................................................... 16 Degradation Versus Deforestation ......................................................................................................................................17 Wildfires: Part of the Natural Ecosystem ........................................................................................................................... 18 Logging’s Human Rights Cost ............................................................................................................................................. 18 Indigenous-Led Boreal Protection ...................................................................................................................................... 19 Forestry Affecting the Waswanipi Cree’s Broadback River Valley Homeland ...................................................................22 Logging’s Impact on Freshwater Resources .......................................................................................................................24 Species Impacts: Boreal Caribou as the Forest’s Canary in the Coal Mine ........................................................................24 The Val-d’Or Herd: A Cautionary Tale ...............................................................................................................................27 Forest Degradation’s Impact on Migratory Birds ...............................................................................................................28 Mining the Boreal Forest.....................................................................................................................................................28 The Climate Impact of Clearcutting in the Boreal ..............................................................................................................29 Impacts of Climate Change and The Need to Preserve Forest Resilience .......................................................................... 31 Harvested Wood Products: An Unproven and Misleading Climate Solution ..................................................................... 31 How Well Is the Boreal Forest Recovering? .......................................................................................................................32 IV. Canada’s Logging Industry: International Demand and Domestic Challenges ............................................... 33 The U.S. Market Is a Driver of Boreal Logging ...................................................................................................................33 A Forest Industry in Transition ..........................................................................................................................................34 The Forest Stewardship Council: A Better Direction for the Forest Industry ...................................................................35 Rayonier: Creating a Better Model for Sustainable Logging ..............................................................................................36 V. Recommendations .......................................................................................................................................... 37 Canada should foster and support Indigenous-led land-use planning ............................................................................... 37 Provincial and territorial decision makers should implement mandatory protections for critical caribou habitat across the boreal forest .......................................................................................................................................... 37 Canada’s federal government should step in to safeguard unprotected critical caribou habitat ....................................... 37 Voluntary Commitments Help, But Are Not Enough ..........................................................................................................38 Canada’s federal and provincial decision makers should improve measurement of greenhouse gas emissions associated with logging in Canada’s boreal forest and develop forestry practices to minimize carbon emissions ...........39 Canada’s federal and provincial governments should implement policies to increase the boreal forest’s resilience to climate change ................................................................................................................................................39 Corporate buyers of boreal forest products should ensure their sourcing policies and decisions are aligned with boreal protection and Indigenous sovereignty ...........................................................................................................39 Conclusion ...........................................................................................................................................................................39 Page 3 CUTTING IT CLOSE NRDC Executive Summary © Garth Lenz © Garth Just below the frozen Arctic Circle, the